Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffles Restaurants in Georgia were raided along with the restaurant’s headquarters on Tuesday [June 21] after Knight’s son Shanga Hankerson, who runs the restaurants, was at the center of the investigation for tax evasion. Luckily, Knight is able to steer clear of all of the drama because her son Shanga is the actual owner of the restaurants and her name serves as the co-sign.
Hankerson is accused of stealing over $650,000 in sales taxes and withholding taxes owed to the state. According to Fox News, “Georgia Department of Revenue Special Investigations Chief Jeff Mitchell told the station that investigation solely surrounds Hankerson and not Knight. Mitchell said she’s ‘totally in the clear.’” The Department of Revenue Agents gathered search warrants for tax records, capping off years of efforts trying to collect money paid by customers for sales tax or withheld from the employees. The revenue agency’s statements said that they also “unsuccessfully attempted to serve arrest warrants on Shanga Hankerson … at his home.”
All restaurant locations have been closed and the corporate office phone lines have been disconnected. Josh Waites, the agency’s special investigations director, says, “We are working with Mr. Hankerson’s attorney to have the business up and running again as soon as possible. As soon as a receivership agreement is reached between the state and Hankerson, the restaurant should reopen for business,”
Apparently, this isn’t the first time Hankerson has been in an ordeal with tax evasion. William Gaston, the revenue agency’s spokesperson told CNN, “He has been in over two dozen payment plans and has defaulted on all of them. It extends to 2013. They have all been for sales and withholding tax.”
